He noted there was concern the six may have been “roughed up” by the police during interrogation, saying some had needed treatment at the hospital but were barred from meeting with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).
Anwar vowed to move the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact’s forces on a nationwide campaign and “explain” the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s tactics to “victimise” not just the six but all those held under the EO.
The six who have been detained since July 2 are Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar, M. Sarasvathy, Choo Chon Kai, M. Sugumaran, A. Letchumanan and R. Saras Babu.
The de factor head of PKR said the reason for their detention, allegedly due to their involvement in subversive activities, was a ruse.
“In reality, it was a ruse by the authorities to demonise Bersih 2.0,” Anwar said in a statement today.
The veteran politician added that after a court application for habeas corpus [Latin for ‘show the body’] the reason given out by the authorities had changed to “involvement with planning the Bersih Peaceful Assembly”.
“These changing reasons are proof the detention of these six have no basis whatsoever,” Anwar said.
“The archaic law is no longer used to defend the nation’s security but is being manipulated to bury those with dissenting views,” he added.
He also said it was unreasonable for the police to block the PSM six from meeting their families since July 15.
“There are no reasons to prevent them from meeting unless there is basis to our concern they have been abused,” he said.
The former deputy prime minister urged Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to listen to the public demand for a stop to power abuses as witnessed in Bersih 2.0’s July 9 rally.
“We don’t want the police force, whose duty it is to protect public safety, to be jeopardised due to the political manipulations of the authorities,” Anwar said.
No comments:
Post a Comment